Welted knit article and method of knitting the same.



. R. W. SCOTT. Y wELTEn KNIT ARTICLE ANDQMETHOD 0F KNITTING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 28, I916.

- Patented Jan. 2, 1917. 7E2 715' g 2 SHEETSSHEET l- R. W. SCOTT.

WELTED KNIT ARTICLE AND METHOD OF KNITTING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 28.1916.

1 ,2]. 9,? l 1 a Patented Jan; 2, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ROBERT W. SCOTT, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO SCOTT &. WILLIAMS, INCORPORATED, 0F CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

- WELTED KNIT ARTICLE AND METHOD OF KNITTING THE SAME. 3

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

. Application filed April 28, 1916. Serial No. 94,233.

To all whom it may concern:

citizen of the United States, and resident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Welted Knit Articles and Methods of Knitting the Same, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the manufacture of knit articles or fabric sections wholly or partly of plain or one-faced fabric and having an integral in-turned welt or hem serving to protect the fabric from raveling or curling upon itself at a free end thereof.

One object is to provide a method of making an article or product of improved qualities of appearance and wear, adapted to be practised upon a single set or row of needles, with or without the aid of bight manipulating instruments.

Another object is to provide in such an article a fabric structure capable" of aiding the operation of a machine provided with one set of needles and with bight detaining implements to form a welt, the fabric structure so formed being capable of removal by a finishing operation, leaving in the completed article only those parts necessary to permanence of the fabric as an article of use.

A further object is to provide a lain fabric article, such as a seamless stoc ing, having an accordion or other mock-rib top or cuff capable of manufacture continuously with the body of the article, with a welt of improved appearance capable of being made continuously with the to or cuif on the same instruments of manu acture.

Heretofore plain or one-faced knit articles finished at one end by an in-turned welt have been formed either by transferring to the machine needles a fold of previously knit fabric, by a costly hand operation; by employing in the machine a second set of needles adapted to receive a setting-up course in alternation with the knitting needles, and so actuating the second set of needles as to hold the setting-up course out of the way and then to place it on the other set of needles after knitting the welt fabric, as in my Letters Patent No. 864,433 dated August 27, 1907; or by knitting a selvage and forming a subsequent uniting course having bights adapted, by aid of the selvage, to be held within and behind the needles by pointed bight-receiving impleof the needles.

ments from which saidbights are subsequently taken by needles adapted to knit a course of the body-fabric through them, as disclosed in my application Serial No. 49161, filed'September 7, 1915.

My present invention is an improvement upon the method and article disclosed in my said application, relating to the manufacture, as upon a machine having one set of needles and bight-receiving implements, of fabrics characterized by an in-turned welt joined to the body-fabric by a knit course following a temporary or releasable section of fabric so made as to be capable of being raveled away from the finished article by pulling upon it, and further relating in one instance to making welts of fabric comparatively narrow with respect to the attached fabric, so that in folded and finished articles, as half-hose or socks, the welt does not project beyond the adjacent top.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a series of diagrams in plan indicating part of a row of knitting instruments, explanatory of the steps of the method; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a stocking characteristic of my new product; Fig. 3 is an enlarged face view of the welt and part of the top or cuff of an article showing the removable yarn structure at the juncture of .welt and top.

Assuming a .row of knitting instruments, such as a machine having 220 needles in a cylinder or carrier, and referring now to.

Fig. 1, (Diagram I) a set-up on the bare needles may be formed by feeding yarn of course 1 to recurrent needles, shown as alternate needles of, the yarn 1 passing behind the intervening needles n', which may be withdrawn out of operation. The yarn for a second course 2 (Diagram II) is now taken by all of the needles both of series n and series WP, and the yarn 1 cast ofl of all The resulting structure is a selvage capable of initiating fabric at the bare needles as described in my prior Patent No. 1,045,621, dated November 26, 1912, and the formation of such selvage may be according to the method described and claimed in myPatent No. 13,752, reissued June 16, 1914. A third or uniting course 3 is now formed, the needles n which did not take the initial yarn being retired, or the yarn of course 3 caused to miss them, without casting off of the needles n the yarn of course 2, resulting as shown in Diagram III in knitting loops 2 at needles n and formng a series of bights an at and behind needles n. These bights may be received as formed on'the points of bight-receiving implements B, which take the places of the retired needles n While I prefer to take the bights w as described in the third course, it will be apparent that a course or courses either on all of the needles or on the needles n only may be knit between course 2 and the course 3 containing the bights 'w without substantially changing the result.

One or more courses 4 are now knit on all of the needles (Diagram IV) for the purpose of retaining with respect to course 3 and the bights w the selvage structure of courses 1 and 2. The relative size of the loops shown in the diagrams is for clearness grossly exaggerated with respect to the dimensions of the points of implements B. It will be understood bythose skilled in the art that courses l, 2, and in some cases, 4, lie beneath the implements B, serving to retain upon their points the bights w, the points passing between the bights 'w' and the selvage fabric courses 1 and 2, which thus form fabric adapted to render the bights w retainable on instruments without hooks, latches or other devices capable of holding an unsupported open bight. WVhether or not a course or courses 4 lies on one side of implement B With respect to the bight w passing on the other side of the implement, courses 1 and 2 are retained in place as a definite and contractile structure by their engagement with course 4 during subsequent knitting of fabric for the welt. p 1

With respect to courses 1, 2 and 4, the bights w, whether or not received as formed, stand as projecting loops capable of being readily picked up upon a suitable imple- -ment for placement upon needles at a later time.

In order to render the bight-retaining or temporary selvage structure removable after completion of the fabric, I now provide (Diagram V) for making course 1 thereof releasable by rendering the engagement with su sequent fabric of course 2 a. releasable engagement. For this purpose, I prefer to cause the loops-in those needlewales engaging course 2 on one side of course 1 to be cast off to permit running back, so as to release all of the loops (except those of course 3) knit through the selvage. In course 2, all of the loops on one side of yarn 1 are formed at needles 4%, and are interknit with course 4 at loops a. For the purpose of retaining the selvage during knitting of the welt, the engagement of loops a, whether free or bound by a subsequent course, is sufficient, and I may yarn 3 at the therefore cast off loops a, as by clearing and retiring needles n, before or during knitting at needles n a suflicient extent of fabric beginning at course 5 to form the welt W, Figs. 2 and 3. As shoWn, the Welt-fabric has half as many wales, beginning at loops 2 of uniting course 3, as there are needles.

Sufficient fabric having been knit for the welt, the withheld bights w of course 3 are now transferred as indicated by arrows )5 (Diagram V) to the needles n, preferably by.movements of implements B and the needles, for instance in the manner fully described in my said application Serial N 0. 49,161. In the instance shown in Fig. 3, the welt fabric is 110 wales wide, and uniting course 3 contains a knit loop a in each of these wales y, and a bight to at the location of intervening needles. This bight having now been placed upon the intervening needles, the result is the same as if a setting-up course formed by two sets of 110 needles each working at an angle to each other had been employed, except that the yarn of course 3 was not employed drawn through a loop to initiate knitting on the bare needles and has been subjected to no injurious strains.

All the" needles may now be operated to make one or more plain-fabric courses, as at 25, Fig. 3, or, if desired, two-feed knit-' tlng may begin at this point for a suflicient length of accordion fabric for a top or cufl T, Fig. 2. The wales corresponding to the needles n idle during the production of the welt, as shown in Fig. 3, are prominent or face wales, such needles failing to knit at one yarn-feed and taking preferably a coarser vening needles (which continue the wales 3 of the welt) being operated at each yarn feed and knitting the main yarn m -knit by the other needles, and a supplemental (preferably finer yarn f alternately.

Inthe case 0 the illustrative stocking shown, single or double course knitting on all the needles'is now begun for the leg-L, which is knit in any usual manner, any usual heel, sole and toe being provided and the completed stocking cast off.

The stocking may be used as a finished article, except for looping the toe seam, in this condition, but, as above described, the yarn of couses 1 and 2 is no essential part of the article, as an article of use, having been employed chiefly for the purposes abOVe described, 71. e. to enable starting on the bare needles or to support and secure holding of the bights or loops taken by the bight detaining implements employed to take loops w of course 3 and hold them during knitting for the welt. By the described construction in which the course 4 was cast off in every other Wale (corresponding to wales m) after being of course 2, merely pulling on yarns 1 or 2 will release yarn 1 by pulling off from the loops a of course 4 all of the loops of course 2. Having released loops a, course 2 being merely wrapped around the yarn of course 1, thus will have released said yarn 1, and the released structure of course 2 will now be free to be pulled longitudinally of the course through the loops of uniting course 3. If desired, the stockings may be finished by so raveling away courses 1 and 2, the yarn of course 2 being left with a suflicient end where it runs into course 3 to prevent releasing any loop of course 3.

By providing, as in the described specific instance, a stocking having an accordion or other mock-ribbed top with a Welt having half as many knit wales only as the top, a difliculty encountered in making such articles of an attractive appearance when folded and finished for sale is avoided. The mockrib fabric is finished in a contracted state, lending itself more readily to drawing in laterally than the plain welt fabric. It has been found diflicult to finish mock-rib top stockings having plain fabric welts of as many wales in width as the attached top in such a manner as to avoid an ugly flare at the top. On the other hand, a welt of half as many wales in width is easily contracted to correspond with the top in finishing, and when knit as described, readily yields later ally sufficiently to correspond with the stretching of the top when in use.

While I have described that species of my new method and its product which is applicable to knitting begun on needles bare of previous fabric, it will be understood by those skilled in the art, without further description, that the genus of my invention includes the formation of the described temporary or releasable fabric adapted to support bights 10 whether or not said fabric is at the beginning or in the middle of the production of the product being made, it being apparent that a course 2 and courses 3 and 4 related as described and shown may be formed whether or not course 2 is taken with respect to an initial yarn or with respect to the terminal knit course of any desired length of fabric, such as waste fabric joining two adjacent articles of a string work and intended to be severed to separate the articles so joined, the structure described in either case serving to permit the temporary fabric to be pulled away from the finished article with little effort.

What I claim is:

1. The method of knitting welted fabrics on a series of needles comprising forming a section of fabric, interknitting a unitlng course therewith in recurrent wales only whereby to form bights of yarn at the intervening wales, knitting subsequent fabric continuing said recurrent and intervening wales; casting oif the stitches in said intervening wales whereby to render said wales running or releasable wales, and subsequently transferring said bights to the needles.

2; The method of knitting welted fabrics on a series of needles comprising forming a section of fabric, interknitting a uniting course therewith in recurrent wales only whereby to form bights of yarn at the intervening wales, knitting subsequent fabric continuing said recurent and intervening wales; casting off the stitches in said intervening wales whereby to render said wales. running or releasable wales, and subsequently trans ferring said bights to needles upon which said intervening wales were formed.

3. The method of knitting welted fabrics on a series of needles comprising forming a section of fabric, inter-knitting a uniting course therewith in recurrent wales only whereby to form bights of yarn at the intervening wales, knitting subsequent fabric continuing said recurrent and intervening wales; casting off the stitches in said intervening wales whereby to render said wales running or releasable wales, and subsequently transferring said bights to the needles; and thereafter knitting body fabric in continuation of the loops and bights of said uniting course.

4. The method of knitting welted fabrics on a series of needles comprising forming courses for a beginning selvage, interknitting a uniting course therewith in recurrent wales only, whereby to form bights of yarn at the intervening wales, knitting subsequent fabric continuing said recurrent and intervening wales; casting off the stitches in said intervening wales whereby to render said wales running or releasable wales, and subsequently transferring said bights to the needles.

5. The method of knitting welted fabrics on a series of needles comprising forming courses for a beginning selvage, interknitting a uniting course therewith in recurrent Wales only, whereby to form bights of yarn at the intervening wales, knitting subsequent fabric continuing said recurrent and intervening wales; casting off the stitches in said intervening wales whereby to render said wales running or releasable wales, and subsequently transferring said bights to the needles; thereafter knitting body fabric in continuation of the loops and bights of said uniting course, and thereafter pulling away the selvage courses.

6. The method of knitting fabrics having inturned welts on a series of needles comprising forming a temporary or removable section of fabric having free-ended wales at certain needles only, interknitting therewith a uniting course having knit loops in other Wales, transferring bights of said uniting course intervening between said knit loops to.

needles, knitting fabric on all of the needles, and thereafter raveling the free-ended wales to release the temporary or removable section of fabric. 1

7., The method of knitting-fabrics having inturned welts on a series of needles comprising first forming on the bare needles a temporary or removable selvage section having an initial yarn and terminating in freeended Wales at certain needles only, interknitting therewith at recurrent needles 2 uniting course, transferring bights-of said 'unltlng course intervenlng between sald recurrent needles to intervening needles, knitting fabric on all of the needles, and thereafter raveling the free-ended wales to release the initial yarn of the selvage section,

and then removing saidyarn and a subsequent course or courses to free sald un tmg course from the temporary fabric.

8. The method of knitting articles of plain fabric having a mock-rib section as for a top or cufi' on a single set of needles comprising first forming on all of said needles a temporary section of fabric, interknitting a uniting. course therewith and retaining away to the needles and knitting through said from the needles bights thereof; thereafter knitting a section of fabric for the welt; thereafter transferring said bights bights and the terminal loops of the welt fabric the initial course of one or more i courses of loops formed on all of the needles from the same yarn, and thereafter knitting a section of multiple course mock-rib fabric in continuation of said course or courses;

9. A knit fabric having a temporary section thereof adapted to be' released upon being pulled away from the remainder of the fabric, said releasable section being interknit with a course containing bights of yarn adapted to be laid hold of by a bight-detaining implement.

10. A knit fabric having a' welt united at both ends to body-fabric by a uniting course interknit with a temporary releasable section of fabric joined thereto by a structure permitting said section to be released from the remaining fabric by pulling upon it.

11. A knit fabric having a releasable temporary section thereof containing a course of yarn having loops passing recurrently upon each side of another course, the loops passing to one side engaging subsequent fab: ric in free-running'wales thereof only.

Signed by me at Boston,Massachusetts, this twenty-sixth day of April 1916.

ROBERT W. SCOTT. Witnesses:

WALTER L. Tor, MINNIE BROWN. 

